L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Silver lining among dark clouds

The editorials ‘A Minister in Jail’ and ‘Business of Politics’ (April 2) dealt with two ills ailing our body politic. While dealing with the imprisonment of the minister, the writer enlisted the accusations against her. Despite so many charges against her, people elected her and she also made it as a cabinet minister. The electorate here is no different from that in the rest of the country. The Delhi masses, which include the so-called educated electorate, rejected Manmohan Singh and did not elect him.

On the other hand, politics is business and it is a good enterprise. Every business requires investment, this business also is no exception. Investment is directly proportional to the profit expected there from. We come to know about the huge ‘profits’ when massive scams like CWG, 2G scams get unearthed. You have rightly stated “All political parties are guilty of encouraging this disturbing trend”.

Inspite of all this, I still salute the democratic setup of my country. The Election Commission is quite proactive and is working quite efficiently. We should not forget the days when booths were captured, voters were shooed away, ballot papers were snatched from the officials and put in the boxes after marking it favorably in their favour.

BS BHATIA, Chandigarh

Justice done

The conviction of Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur, also former president SGPC, has proved that there is still hope for delivery of justice and judiciary, by and large, is free from influence of the powers that be. The judgement pronounced after 12 years also speaks of slow pace of justice. If these cases are decided in a time-bound manner, such persons as have scant regard for human values, ethics and principles will not be able to reach high offices and responsible positions despite committing inhuman and barbaric acts.

ARUN JANDIAL, Jammu

Bureaucrats vs soldiers

The comments of the former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra show that it’s not the Army Chief gone  ‘berserk’, but  Mishra himself, who is wearing the wrong boots on his feet. He should know that sending a soldier on ‘forced leave’ is not an accepted norm in the armed forces.  Keeping his maturity, experience and service in mind, Mishra should not have expressed his mind in such a brazen and uncivilised manner. Through such expressions he is only justifying the allegations that the bureaucrats always act unkindly and ungracefully towards well-meaning soldiers and their leadership. In a democratic country, although the defence services are subservient to the top political bosses, it is high time the bureaucrats exercising power on their behalf, treat soldiers and defence officers respectfully.  

Maj MATHEW OOMMEN (retd), Pune

II

The letter written by the Army chief to the Prime Minister shows how helpless and uninformed the people of India are. Politicians feed their pockets and cultivate their lust for money. Corruption in the society is directly proportional to the tolerance of the people. Time has come to raise our voices, to be an active part of the system and to reinforce righteousness.

ADITYA VEER SINGH RANA, Chandigarh

Illegal mining

The government swung into action against illegal mining in Ropar villages after the Tribune highlighted the plunder (news item ‘Illegal miners have a field day as Ropar admn looks away’, April 2). It is quite amazing to note that such blatant violation of laws takes place in full public glare and that the duty to wake up the administration is left to the newspapers. Should it not be presumed that such degradation of eco system has the blessings of government agencies? It will be prudent for the government to act against its officials who have been conniving in illegal mining.

S C CHABBA, Panchkula

Sasikala reformed

Jayalalitha’s rapprochement comes on the heels of Sasikala's recent deposition in the court hearing the disproportionate case against the TN supremo (“Return of Sasikala”, April 3). The erstwhile confidante had affirmed therein that Jayalalitha had no knowledge of the litany of misdeeds perpetrated in her name by others. The expulsion from the party and pre-emptory dismissal was enough to reform Sasikala. A thespian of repute in her heydays, Jayalalitha has orchestrated yet again, a convincing screenplay. Whether the courts are impressed, we will know in due course.

R NARAYANAN, Ghaziabad

Learning English

Learning English for cosmetic reasons, without proper knowledge of grammar and diction, is of no consequence. Deepti Gupta has raised some pertinent issues concerning English learning in our country in the article ‘Customise teaching of English’ (April 3).

Catering to individual requirements, as suggested by the writer, is indeed the need of the hour. Emphasis should be laid on teaching and learning grammatically correct English from the very beginning. You can move step by step towards consistent usage. The curriculum has to be devised accordingly. To achieve the desired target, an able teacher sometimes may have to go down to the level of the taught, who, of course should be keen learners. It can be a satisfying experience for both the parties. We must follow the British English and avoid using the American spellings as suggested by the computer which makes our language incorrect. 

PARAMBIR KAUR, Ludhiana